Experiment in Painting Sheer Effects

Written and Copyright 2007 by Stan Gregory

Introduction

I am painting this miniature for Iron Painter 3, round 3. I spent the better part of a week looking through my unpainted miniatures, looking for something to paint for this round. I cleaned and primed a number of miniatures, but in the end I decided against using any of the miniatures that I already had.
I purchased this miniature specifically for this contest. I had never tried a sheer effect before and was a bit hesitant about this round. I thought that I would paint some or all of the dress sheer and the glass might also be considered "sheer."

I would have liked to have removed the integral base that was part of this miniature, but I thought that it would be too much work for me.

Basecoating

In this case, I basecoated each area of the miniature with its shadow color. I also drew where the wine would appear in her glass.

First Steps

I glued the miniature to a round 30mm base, and used Green Stuff to fill in the base. I sculpted stones in the Green Stuff to blend in with the base. I temporarily, lightly glued the base to a piece of cardboard to make it easier for me to handle while painting it.

These pictures were taken after I painted the wine in the glass, the glass, and the skin. I will have to go back and touch-up these areas if I get time. Also, I painted the eyes, although they are a little difficult to see in this picture. I used RMS Linen White for the whites of the eyes this time, whereas I normally use RMS Pure White.

Next Phase

I've now painted the nails, lips, and her earring. I've also cleaned-up the edge of the base.

Making Progress

Next, I added some Green Stuff around the midsection of her dress to separate the bodice from the rest of it. I am planning on making the bodice somewhat sheer, but not the lower part of the dress.

I painted the lacework on the dress, the separation between the top and bottom of the dress that I added, her hair, and the stonework on the ground. I am leaving the dress itself for last, as I am not sure how I want to proceed with it.

The Dress

I highlighted the bottom part of the dress as I normally would, and I tried highlighting the top part with the darker colors that I had previously used for the skin. I thought that had too much contrast, so I added several glazes of the darkest skin color and then manually touched-up a few spots. Unfortunately, I was not really pleased with the result, but did not have time to continue working on this part of the miniature. I had also hoped to draw some freehand to represent lacework on the sheer part of the dress, but also did not have time for that.

Conclusion

I now try to smooth-out some transitions at this point to give the miniature a more finished feel. I did some additional touch-ups and minor base work after the previous picture. I would have liked to try to repaint the top (supposedly sheer) part of the dress, but I ended-up running out-of-time. It was unfortunate that I spent so much time choosing a miniature to paint. The deadline for the contest arrived, and I submitted what I had at the time. You can see the finished miniature in my 2007 Gallery.